Former Gold Club strip bar building in Chicopee bought by Branford Hall Career Institute

Photo by Don Treeger / The Republican The former Gold Club in Chicopee has been sold to the parent company of Branford Hall Career Institute.

This is a 7:41 p.m. update of a story posted at 12:36 this afternoon.

CHICOPEE - The former Gold Club building will go from barroom to classrooms after being purchased by the corporate parent of Branford Hall Career Institute.

The long-vacant strip club was acquired for $1.3 million by the Premier Education Group to allow Branford Hall to expand its Springfield campus, according to Chicopee officials.

The site, located on Shawnigan Drive along Massachusetts Turnpike, was owned by Chicopee Entertainment LLC, which operated a juice bar there for six months before being shut down for licensing violations in October 2004.

The abrupt closing followed a long battle by club owners to operate a strip bar just a few hundred yards from the Turnpike.

Since the property was put up for sale in 2006, several other projects, including a luxury pet hotel, were considered before the sale to Premier, said John S. Williamson, whose Springfield-based company arranged the sale.

Not only will new ownership provide stability for the property, but using it as a school will benefit the public as well, Williamson said.

"This is about 180 degrees from a strip bar," said Williamson, who said the new owners plan to begin renovations soon.

"This is great for the people of Chicopee, who have had to live through this soap opera for too long," said Williamson.

The new campus is expected to open in early 2010.

Mayor Michael D. Bissonette and Branford Hall officials announced the sale at a press conference Monday morning. The school expects to employ 50 to 60 people and teach 200 students at the site, which is located about 1.2 miles from turnpike Exit 6.

Given the property's location and its past history as a strip bar, Williamson said he has been flooded with inquiries from potential buyers.

"I've had more calls on this than any other property" in two decades in the commercial real estate business, Williamson said.

"Some were from what I would call qualified buyers, and some were not," he added.